Exploring music student teachers’ professional identities

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore music student teachers’ perceptions of their professional identities. Participants were five music student teachers from an institution in the United States. I used two frameworks to explore, analyse, and interpret participants’ perceptions. Data included interviews, field notes, and work products from student teacher seminar. Analysis of data resulted in four themes: Evolving Identities, Shifting Concerns, Negotiating Tension, and Connecting with Others. Participants’ descriptions of their professional identities changed and gained clarity and complexity throughout the student teaching experience. Concerns expressed by participants progressed generally in line with the teacher concerns model. Participants experienced various types of tension that they negotiated during student teaching. Relevant others were key in building their self-concept as teachers. Implications for music teacher educators and future research are suggested including identity learning for preservice music teachers and addressing tensions in identity development.